Automatic-call clock



C. R. BACON.

AUTOMATIC CALL CLOCK.

f APPLICATION FILED APR-M21, 1919. 4 v 1,386,31 1 Patented May 31,1921,

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C. R. BACON.

AUTOMATIC CALL CLOCK. APPLICATIIONV FILED APR-21,1919. Patented May 31, 1921.

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UNITED STATES CHARLES R. BACON, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMATIC-CALL CLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 31, 1921.

Application filed April 21, 1919. Serial No. 291,736.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES R. BACON,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic-Call Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

My object is to make a chronological switch for call bells, lamps and the like, and my invention consists of the novel features herein shown, described and claimed.

Figure 1 is a perspective of a chronological switch for call bells, lamps and the like embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation, parts being broken away and shown in section.

Fig. 3 is an electrical diagram.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 and looking downwardly as indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation upon an enlarged scale of the gearing and clutch for connecting the clock to the switch mechanism, the view being taken upon a plane parallel with Fig. 2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows 5 in Figs. 4 and 7 Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail on the lines 6-6 of Figs. 4 and 7 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

' Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical section on the lines 77 of Figs. 4, 5 and 6 and lookin in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional detail of one of the bell circuit breakers as on the lines 88 of Figs. 2 and 9.

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional detail on the line 99 of Fig. 8. r V

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary plan of one. of the lamp circuit breakers as on the lines 1010 of Figs. 2 and 11 and looking downwardly.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the circuit breaker shown in Fig. 10 uponthe same plane as Fig. 2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrow .11 in Fig. 10.

Referring to Figs. 10 and 11, the details of the lamp circuit breaker 1 are as follows: A pad of insulation 2 is mounted upon the base 3, a metallic plate 4 is mounted upon the insulation 2 and has a hub extending upwardly, a turntable 5 is mounted upon the hub, and a screw 6 is inserted downwardly through the turntable and tapped into the plate 4. Operating pegs 7 are mounted radially in the turntable 5 evenly spaced apart and concentric to the screw 6, and contacting pegs 8 are mounted in the turntable 5, said pegs 8 being arranged alternately with the operating pegs 7 and in the 1 same circle. The lamp wires 9 and 10 are inserted through a post 11 and project into the path of the upper ends of the contacting pegs 8 so as to pass over the upper ends of the operating pegs 7. When a peg 8 is in contact with the free ends of the wires 9 and 10 the lamp circuit is closed through the peg, and when the peg is out of contact with the ends of the wires the lamp circuit is broken.

Referring to Fig. 3, the lamp circuit breaker 1 is mounted right side up as in Fig. 11 and controls the lamp 12. The wire 9 runs through the lamp 12 and the wires 9 and 10 run through the button switch 13 to a knife switch 14 and from the knife switch 14 to the meter 15 and to the main lines 16. The lamp switch 17 is identical in construction with the lamp switch 1 except that it is turned bottom upward and the lamp switch 17 closes the circuit through the lampwires 18 and 19, the wire 19 passing through the lamp 20 and the wires 18 and 19 passing through the button switch 21 to the knife switch 14, so that both lamps 12 and 20 may be turned off by operating the knife switch 14, or either lamp may be turned off by operating the button switches 13 or 21, and so that when the knife switch 14 is closed and the button switches 13 and 21 closed and the circuit breakers 1 and 17 closed the lamps 12 and 20 will burn, and if either circuit breaker is open the corresponding lamp will be turned off. The lamps 12 and 20 may be used for illuminating-a sign, a front porch, a hall, or for any other purpose where it is desired to turn the circuits on or off at certain predetermined times.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 8, a cylinder 22 is chronologically operated by the clock 23, and the cylinder 22 carries a row of holes 24 near its lower end and a corresponding row of holes 25 near its upper end. The circuit breaker operating pins 26 and 27 are removably mounted in the holes 24 and 25, and said pins engage the pegs 7 and 8 of the circuit breakers 1 and 17, so that when the pin 26 or 27 engages a peg 8 and rotates the turntable one step the opposite peg 8 will be brought under thewires 9 and 10 and the circuit is open, and when the pin 26 or 27 engages a peg 7 and rotates the turntable one step the opposite peg 7 will be moved from under the wires 9 and 10 and the next peg 8 will be brought into contact with the wires 9 and 10 and the circuit is closed.

Referring to Figs. 8 and 9, the details of the bell circuit breakers 28 are as follows:

Spring wires 29 and 30 are inserted through the post 11, the outer ends of the wires are coiled and nails 31 and 32 are driven through the wires into the post 11, and the bell wires 33 and 34 are attached to the nails or to the spring wires 29 and 30. The free ends 35 and 36 of the wires 29 and 30 are bent to form loops, the loops being parallel and accurately spaced apart. The metal contact plugs 37 are removably mounted in the holes 38in the cylinder 22. The holes 38 are chronologically arranged around the cylinder and the cylinder is preferably made of wood. hen the plug 37 is mounted in a hole 38 and the cylinder rotated the head of the plug 37 passes be tween the loops 35 and 36 and the circuit is closed through the plug.

Referring to Fig. 2, the holes 38 are arranged in rows around the cylinder 22v and the rows are opposite the numbers 1, 2, 3 and so forth upon the edge of the door 39., the numbers on the door corresponding to the numbers of the rooms in which the bells are located. The pegs are arranged in vertical rows and the vertical rows are chronologically marked 1, 1 :15, 1 :30, and so on every fifteen minutes for twelve hours as indicated by the marking 40 around the upper end of the cylinder. If a bell room number one, for instance, is to be rung at one oclock a plug 37 is placed in the hole 38 directly under the marking 1 in the vertical column and opposite the marking 1 in the horizontal column, then when the plug 37 moves around and contacts with the corresponding circuit breaker wires 29 and 30 the bellwill ring until the plug passes the wires.

In Fig. 2 I have shown an equipment for ten rooms numbered on the door 39, 1, 2,3, to 10, and there is a chronological row of holes 38 for each room and a circuit breaker 28 for each row of holes. The cylinder 22 is divided into vertical rows corresponding to each fifteen minutesfor twelve hours.

The cylinder 22 is'mounted to rotate upon a vertical axis, the shaft 41 extends through the center 'ofthe cylinder and forms. the axle and extends downwardly throughthe base 3, and a handwheel 42 isfixed upon tlie lower end of the shaft below the base for use in rotating the cylinderback and forth to set the circuit breaker pins 26 and 27 and the circuit breaker plugs 37. The upper end of the shaft 41 is journaled, in the top 43. The base 3 and the top 43 are beveled into a cabinet having sides 44 and 45 and a back 46. The door 39 is connected to the side 44 by hinges 47, and the door 48 is connected to the side 45 by hinges 49. When the doors 39 and 48 are closed, as in Fig. 1, there is a slot 50 between the doors and the adjacent edges of the doors are beveled to form guides for following the vertical rows of holes for setting the circuit breaker pins and plugs. The circuit breaker mechanisms are covered by the door 48 and are accessible when the door 48 is open.

The clock casing 51 is built integral with the'cabinet and extends upwardly from the top 43 and at the back side of the top. A large clockgear 52 is loosely mounted upon the upper end of the shaft 41 above the cylinder 22, a clutch tooth 53 is fixed in the gear 52 and extends upwardly near the shaft, a second clutch tooth 54 is fixed in the shaft 41, a clutch sleeve 55 is slidingly mounted upon the shaft 41 andhas a vertical longitudinal slot 56 into which the tooth 54 extends to lock the sleeve 55 to the shaft,and a flange 57 extends from the upper end of the sleeve. A recess 58 is formed inthe top 43. A spring 59 is placed upon the shaft 41 against the upper end of the sleeve 55, the tension of the spring being exerted to hold the sleeve 55 downwardly against the upper face of the gear 52, so that the tooth 53 will engage in the slot 56 and lock the clutch gear 52 to the shaft 41. A rock shaft 60 is mounted under the top 43 and has acrank handle 61 extending up wardlv through the top and has a crank 62 extending from the opposite end from, the crank handle 61. The crank 62 engages underthe flange 57 and is so located relativeto the handle 61 that when the handle is moved to the left, as in Figs. '2 and 5, the crank 62 is horizontal and the sleeve 55 is down in position to clutch thegear 52 to the shaft 41, and so that when the handle 61 is moved a quarter turn to the right the crank 62 stands vertically and raises the sleeve out of engagement with the tooth so that the shaft 41 and the cylinder 22 may be rotated freely in either direction by manipulating the hand wheel 42. A pinion 63 meshes with the gear 52 and the-driving shaft 64 carrying the pinion 63 extends upwardly and is operated from the clock 23.

In order to operate the cylinder 22 from the clock23 one step every fifteen minutes, I take a striking clock and remove the striking gear and substitute the gear 65. The gear 65 is operated by the striking spring 66 and is controlled by the dog 67. The dog 67 is connected to the timing mechanism so as to be raised out of the locking slot 68 every fifteen minutes, and when the dog 67 is raised out of the slot 68 the gear 65 will rotate under the impulse of the spring 66 until the dog 67 reaches the next slot 68. A train of gearing 69 connects the gear to the shaft 64 so that when the gear 65 is operating from one slot 68 to another the cylinder 22 will rotate from one time inclication to the next as from 1:15 to 1:30, or from 1:30 to 1:45 and so on. The circuit breakers are so arranged that the plugs 37 and the pins 26 and 27 will do their work while the cylinder 22 is operating, and so that the plugs 37 will not stop incontacting positions.

The handle 61 extends upwardly through the slot 70 in the top 43 and the switch handle 71 crosses the slot 70, so that when the handle 61 is operated to the left, as in Fig. 1, and the switch handle 71 operated to the left to strike the handle 61 the handle 71 is upon the terminal 72 and the bell circuit is closed, and when the handle 61 is moved to the right to disconnect the cylinder 22 from the clock the handle 61 moves the handle 71 to the right and breaks the bell circuit.

Referring to Fig. 3, the bell circuit is operated from the battery 7 3, the line 7 4 leads from the battery to the terminal 75 to which the switch handle 71 is connected, the line 76 leads to the bells 77, and the lines 7 8 lead from the bells 77 to the terminals 30 of the circuit breakers 28, and the line 79 leads from the contact 72 to the terminals 29 of the circuit breakers 28, so that when the plug 37 is passing between the terminals 29 and 30 of a circuit breaker 28 the-corresponding bell will ring if the switch handle 71 is upon the contact 72.

lVheu it is desired to insert a plug 37 to call a room the handle 61 is operated to disconnect the cylinder 22, the handwheel 4.2 is operated to rotate the cylinder 22 until the desired time for the call appears in the slot 50, then the plug is inserted in the hole 38 opposite the room number and in the vertical column indicated by the time numher, then the handwheel i2 is operated to rotate the cylinder back until the tooth 53 enters the slot 50 in the sleeve 55. During this operation the bell circuit should be open and when the operation is complete the switch handle 71 should be moved to con tacting position.

Thus I have produced a chronological switch especially useful in hotels, rooming houses and the like, so that the clerk may prepare the switch any time after twelve oclock noon and call the rooms, turn on the porch light, the sign light, the hall light and the like, and turn the lights off so that no night clerk will be required.

Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A chronological switch comprising a rotatably mounted cylinder having holes chronologically arranged in vertical rows and numerically arranged in horizontal rows and chronological indications for the vertical rows and numerical indications for the horizontal rows, circuit breaker members adapted to be removably inserted in the holes, circuit breaker terminals in position to be engaged by the circuit breaker mem bers, a clock, gearing connecting the clock mechanism to rotate the cylinder intermittently, means for disconnecting the cylinder from the clock, an electric circuit including audible signals and said circuit breaker members, and a switch located in said circuit and adapted to be opened upon the actuation of said means for disconnecting the cylinder from the clock.

2. In a chronological switch a rotatably mounted cylinder having holes chronologically arranged and adapted to removably carry contact plugs, rotatably mounted disks having vertically disposed pins arranged in pairs diametrically, said disks being positioned adjacent to the cylinder so that the pins thereof may be engaged by the contact plugs of the cylinder, electric contacts positioned to be engaged by a vertical pin of a rotatable disk when a contact plug of the drum engaging an opposite pin of the disk so that an electric circuit may be established in the electric contacts, a clock, driving connections between the clock mechanism and the rotatably mounted cylinder, an electric circuit including an audible signal and a switch, and means for simultaneously disconnecting the. driving means between said clock and the rotatably mounted cylinder and opening said last mentioned switch.

3. In a chronological switch, a rotatably mounted cylinder, a clock mechanism, driving connections between said clock mechanism and the cylinder, manually operable means for disconnecting said driving connections, an electric circuit including a plurality of contacts that are adapted to be closed by means adjustably arranged upon the cylinder and a switch in said circuit,

which switch is located adjacent to and adapted to be opened by the manually operable means when the same is actuated to disconnect the driving connections from the clock to the cylinder.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHARLES R. BACON. 

